How Imperfect Is Our Past? A Conversation With Charles Bryan

Virginia Museum of History & Culture Podcast

On March 15, 2022, Dr. Charles Bryan and VMHC president and CEO Jamie Bosket had a conversation about some of the topics covered in Dr. Bryan’s latest book, "Imperfect Past Volume II: More History in a New Light." The late southern writer John Egerton observed that there are three kinds of history: what actually happened, what we are told happened, and what finally came to believe happened. It is that third type that author and former VMHC president and CEO Charles Bryan addresses in many of the essays in Volume 2 of "Imperfect Past." Bryan challenges many of the assumptions about the past his generation was taught in schools some sixty years ago. A once simplistic story has become more complex, but at the same time, more compelling and provocative. The lecture will consist of a conversation between Dr. Bryan and current VMHC president and CEO Jamie Bosket. Dr. Charles F. Bryan, Jr., is an American historian who spent most of his career in the museum field, including twenty years as president of the Virginia Historical Society. He is the author of several books, including "Imperfect Past: History in a New Light" and "Imperfect Past Volume II: More History in a New Light." The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.